Alicia von Auslese
Alicia von Auslese II is the queen of Liberl and the 26th monarch to lead the nation since its foundation. Approaching her 60th birthday, Alicia has ruled the country of Liberl for nearly 40 years, ascending the throne at the age of 20 after her father, King Edgar von Auslese III, died. As the ruler of a small kingdom wedged in between two large countries, Queen Alicia is well versed in the art of diplomacy, having established and maintained treaties with both neighboring countries in order to promote trade and cultural exchange and keep relations between countries in good shape. In addition to maintaining relations with the other countries, she has also taken it upon herself to promote and assist the growth of the local industries, as well as the Bracer Guild. In addition, she also helped foster the current incarnation of the Martial Arts Competition, which used to be an internal test for the army's forces but has now become a public spectacle and one of the most prominent cultural events in the country. Her rule hasn't been without darker periods, however, the most prominent one being the Hundred Days War that took place around the 30th year of her reign that resulted in the largest part of the country being occupied by the Erebonian Empire until the combination of newly invented airships and Cassius Bright's military genius allowed the royal army to defeat the invaders and Alicia's diplomatic ties with other countries on the continent, such as the Calvard Republic, allowed her to mobilize help to ward off a second invasion force. While Queen Alicia remained in the walled-off Grancel during the war, her granddaughter Klaudia was in the Ruan region at the time where she was taken in by Matron Theresa and her husband Joseph and it took the queen several months to track down the princess after the war ended. Another, more personal, tragedy happened to Queen Alicia five years before the war broke out when a naval vessel, the Eterna, sank in Calvardian waters, causing the death of her son, Judis, and his wife. In addition to the personal loss, the death of Princess Klaudia's parents also caused a political problem as Judis was Alicia's only child and his passing meant there was no immediate successor to the throne. When the time came to consider a successor, Alicia ended up favoring the young, but selfless and well-mannered Klaudia over the older, yet egocentric and spoiled Dunan. While considered the wisest course of action for the country, this decision ended up as one of the factors behind the coup d'etat instigated by Colonel Richard and assisted by Duke Dunan. Before the coup started, Queen Alicia had a talk with Richard about his proposal for measures involving the militarisation of Liberl, something she understood the reasoning behind but didn't agree with. When the Central Factory is attacked, the Royal Guards are framed and arrested for it and she herself is placed under house arrest, Alicia initially thinks the coup is merely to have her replaced by someone under Richard's command, but this changes when she gets two unexpected visitors. Tasked with the mission of relaying a message from Professor Russell and smuggled into the Royal Keep by the castle's head maid, Hilda, Estelle and Joshua manage to meet with Queen Alicia after winning the Martial Arts Competition. Having known Cassius for a long time, Alicia receives the two Bright siblings warmly and kindly. After the conversation shifts from Russell's message to their father, the queen proceeds to tell them about Cassius' role in the war and the feelings of guilt he's been carrying ever since the death of his wife. Apologizing for the pain she and her father had to go through due to her father's service to the country, she asks Estelle to leave dealing with the coup to her father and await his return in Rolent, not wanting to feel responsible for the loss of another member of the Bright family. Estelle and Joshua, however, convince her that they've already come too far to turn back and that the stakes are too high to sit around waiting for Cassius. Queen Alicia then concedes and makes an official request for the Bracer Guild to rescue her imprisoned granddaughter and herself. The Bracers accept her request and the next evening, a task force comprised of Bracers and Royal Guards storms the Erbe Royal Villa and saves the people held hostage there, Princess Klaudia among them. The next day at noon, the Bracers and Royal Guardsmen launch a three-pronged attack on the heavily fortified castle with the intention of saving the queen. After Joshua and his team infiltrates the castle and opens the gate and while the guardsmen and Bracers engage the Intelligence Division's special ops, Estelle, Kloe and Scherazard land a confiscated airship on the castle's garden terrace and make their way into the Royal Keep, defeating Captain Amalthea and Duke Dunan's guards along the way. When they reach Queen Alicia, however, they find that she's being guarded by 2nd Lieutenant Lorence who subdues them after engaging them in battle. Rather than finishing them off, Lorence tells them he'll let the queen go. Taking a close look at the 2nd lieutenant after he's taken off his mask, Queen Alicia notes that there's hardship and tragedy in his eyes. Giving her an angry glare, Lorence replies that she, who knows about Hamel, is in no position to pity him and then leaves. This response clearly rattles the queen. After Lieutenant Schwarz, Joshua, Zane and Olivier arrive, Queen Alicia tells them that Lorence's last words before he left, to go underground, probably means that Colonel Richard is after the Aureole, which she believes might be buried underneath the castle and which, if unsealed, could bring catastrophy to the world. She takes the others to the treasury in the castle cellar and opens it with the key she has in her possession, finding an unfamiliar elevator there that was constructed by the Intelligence Division. Before they can use the elevator to go after the colonel, a member of the royal guard appears and reports that army troops led by an Intelligence Division officer are approaching Grancel. Leaving the pursuit of Colonel Richard to Estelle and her companions, Queen Alicia heads to the terrace in order to wait for the troops to arrive and address them, hoping to persuade them to lay down their weapons. While Estelle, Joshua and the others deal with Richard, the queen manages to deescalate the situation and with the help of General Morgan and Major Cid, the insurgency is quelled. After the coup is thwarted and most of the conspirators are arrested, the emergency situation is lifted and the Birthday Celebration can proceed as planned. On the day of the celebration itself, Queen Alicia, now 60 years old, addresses the nation from the terrace overlooking the city, accomapnied by Princess Klaudia. After the speech she returns to the throne room in order to hold a meeting with General Morgan and Colonel Cassius in order to discuss the steps needed to repair the damage the Intelligence Division inflicted on the royal army. Queen Alicia is a wise and capable ruler who is greatly respected by her subjects for her political instincts and diplomatic savvy. In addition to her political talents, she's also a graceful and kind woman who's admired and beloved as a person by those who have dealt with her personally. Relations Queen Alicia is the grandmother of Princess Klaudia and the aunt of Duke Dunan Category:NPCs Category:NPCs (Grancel) Category:NPCs (Chapter 4 FC)